Ballots to remain uncounted in MI and Stein blocked in Philly. Guest: Election integrity, law expert Paul Lehto says this proves 'only option is to get it right on Election Night'. Also: Trump taps climate denier, fossil-fuel tool for EPA...

The deafening noise of scampering rats from the sinking ship continues.Following on the heels of Bush-Cheney's chief '04 campaign strategist, Matthew Dowd, over the weekend, GOP insider and Bush/Cheney family friend, Vic Gold, unloads on the two to WaPo in advance of his new book, Invasion of the Party Snatchers: How the Holy-Rollers and the Neo-Cons Destroyed the GOP.

Gold, who was asked by Lynn Cheney to write the profiles of both Bush and Cheney and their wives for the official commemorative 2000 Inauguration program tells WaPo today:

"For all the Rove-built facade of his being a 'strong' chief executive, George W. Bush has been, by comparison to even hapless Jimmy Carter, the weakest, most out of touch president in modern times," Gold writes. "Think Dan Quayle in cowboy boots."

And on Cheney...

"A vice president in control is bad enough. Worse yet is a vice president out of control."
...
"Men do not change, they unmask themselves." Cheney has a deep streak of paranoia and megalomania, Gold suggests --- but he says he did not see it at first.

"He was hiding who he really was," Gold says. "He was waiting for an opportunity."

The above point is particularly interesting in light of what Gold wrote about Cheney for the commemorative Inaugural program:

"A man of gravitas with a quick and easy wit; a conservative who'll see a road less traveled; a political realist who sees his country and the world around him not in terms of leaden problems but golden opportunities."

Indeed.

The parade of similar such defections, we suspect, will continue --- exponentially --- apace...

Go over to joeleonardi.wordpress.com and see what a true conservative thinks of what is going on. Joe has a lot of insight, he was a Congressional Candidate who overcame quite a few obstacles to stay in the race, but his party wouldn't lift a finger until it was too late to really help him.
His story is incredible, he has been reluctant to talk about it since the election but I heard him on a local talk radio program and went to work on his campaign.